Electricity sector in Denmark

The electricity sector in Denmark relies on fossil energy and new renewable energy: wind power, biogas, biomass and waste. Danish average consumption of electricity per person was 0.8 GWh less than EU 15 average in 2008. Denmark invested in the wind power development in the 1970s and has been the top wind power country of the world ever since. Danish consumption of wind turbine generated electricity is the highest in the world per person: 1,218 kWh in 2009. Denmark produced more wind power per person in Denmark in 2009 than either Spain or the UK produced nuclear power per person in their respective countries.

The Danish electricity market is a part of the Nord Pool Spot power exchange.

Gross electricity consumption & production in GWh with renewables share

Production Consumption Import-Export Fossil Nuclear RE Bio & Waste Wind Onshore Wind Offshore Total Wind % of Consumption Total RE % of Consumption Kg CO2 per MWh Produced
2005 36400 35130 1370 23526 0 3545 5236 1428 19% 29% 571
2006 45742 35974 -6934 33264 0 3514 4739 1368 17% 27% 619
2007 39371 36069 -955 26318 0 3506 5800 1370 20% 30% 588
2008 36723 36103 1454 24053 0 3592 5453 1524 19% 29% 572
2009 36482 34624 334 23892 0 3668 5046 1664 19% 30% 586
2010 38882 35483 -1135 24010 0 4780 5122 2686 22% 35% 542
2011 35040 34528 1318 18901 0 4527 6360 3405 28% 41% 498
2012 30689 34135 5214 14052 0 4583 6796 3472 30% 44% 458
Note 1: All numbers are gross which includes losses from transmission, distribution and self-consumption by fossil thermal plants making total production and consumption larger as well as making the non-thermal renewable share smaller, e.g. renewables production made up 49.2% of net generation during 2012. [1]
Note 2: Wind conditions fluctuate from year to year and changes to precipitation over Scandinavia significantly affects hydro production in Norway and Sweden which in turn affects imports and exports, e.g. 2006.
Note 3: Photovoltaics first had a significant effect in 2012. Due to this electricity being seen by the grid as self-consumption it in part caused gross consumption to drop by 1% from 2011 to 2012. [2]
Note 4: Sources are from the publicly owned transmission grid authority Energinet.dk with their Environmental Reports 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010 & 2012 [3]

Consumption

According to Nordel annual statistics Denmark's total electricity consumption totaled 36,392 GWh in 2006. Consumption increased about 3% in the period from 2001 to 2006 (in the same time-frame Sweden saw a 3% reduction, Norway a 2% reduction and Finland a 10% increase).[4]

As of 2009 Danish consumption of wind-generated electricity topped the world per person: 1,218 kWh. The renewable electricity-sources may give some protection against high annual changes. Electricity consumption fell in Denmark only 4% in the 2009-2008 recession (while falling 7.1% in Sweden, 7.9% in Finland and 8.6% in the UK; in Iceland consumption fell only 0.9%). Danish average consumption of electricity per person was 0.8 MWh less than the EU 15 average of 7.4 MWh in 2008.[5]

Production

Mode of production

The total installed power capacity was 12.5 GW in 2001 and in the end of 2006 12.7 GW including 9.5 GW thermal power and 3.1 GW wind power.[4] Denmark has almost no hydropower.[6] Current power system data are provided by Energinet.dk and EMD.

Power stations

Producers

Main power producing companies operating in the Danish market are Dong Energy and Vattenfall. The current market structure was designed in 2003–2006 by a number of mergers and transactions. In January 2003, DONG acquires a 64% share in the regional power company EnergiGruppen Jylland, which owned 3.1% of the electricity producer Elsam. At the same year Elsam acquired 78.8% of retail sales operator NESA and later took a full control of the company. At the same time, NESA owned 36% in other electricity producer Energy E2. In 2004, EnergiGruppen Jylland increased its stake in Elsam to 24% and on 10 December 2004 DONG and Elsam announce announced their planned merger. DONG increased its stake in Elsam to 64.7% while Swedish power producer Vattenfall had acquired a blocking stake of 35.3%.[7]

In 2005, DONG purchased municipal utilities Københavns Energi and Frederiksberg Forsyning, including their 34% and 2.26% stakes in Energi E2. In May 2005, DONG and Vattenfall agreed split of assets in Elsam and Energi E2. Vattefall received Amager Power Station, Fyn Power Station, Nordjylland Power Station, two decentralised gas-fired plants in Zealand, a portfolio of Danish and international wind activities, and a 30% stake in a German wind development for exchange of Vattenfall's 35% stake in Elsam and 40% stake in the Avedøre 2 Power Station. The agreement and merger of DONG, Elsam, NESA, Københavns Energi, and Frederiksberg Forsyning to form Dong Energy was approved by the European Commission in 2006 and consequently came into force on 2 July 2006.[4][7]

Competition

The Danish Council decided that the Danish producer Elsam (now DONG) abused its dominant position in Denmark to raise prices in the period 2003-2006.[4]

Transmission

External images
High voltage grid of Denmark Archive
Export capacities - note that Cross-Skagerrak is now 1,700 MW

Denmark has two separated transmission systems, of which the eastern one is synchronous with Nordic (former NORDEL) and the western one with the synchronous grid of Continental Europe.[8] The 600 MW Great Belt Power Link connecting the two systems was commissioned only in July 2010, started commercial operations in August 2010, and was inaugurated on 7 September 2010.[4][9]

The Danish transmission system is owned and operated by Energinet.dk. Energinet.dk was created by a merger of power grid operators Eltra, Elkraft System and Elkraft Transmission, and by natural gas transmission system operator Gastra. The merger took place on 24 August 2005 with retrospective effect from 1 January 2005.[10] Eltra and Elkraft were communally owned by the respective region's distribution companies. The high-voltage transmission assets were transferred to the Danish State and later to Energinet.dk at no cost.[11] As of 2014, nearly all low-voltage (<10 kV) power lines run as underground cables. For medium voltage around 50-60 kV 40% are buried, while 25% of high-voltage (132-400 kV) are ground cables.[12] Since 1997, Elkraft and Eltra operated as fully unbundled companies from the power generating companies.[13]

Several cables using direct current connect the two Danish systems to neighboring countries. The west Danish power grid is connected to Norway with 1,700 MW (Cross-Skagerrak) and Sweden with 740 MW (Konti–Skan). East Denmark is connected to Germany with 600 MW (Kontek). Larger alternating current connections also exist; 1,780 MW export from Jutland to Germany, and 1,700 MW from Zealand to Sweden.[14] A 700 MW (Cobra Cable) is planned to connect Jutland and Netherlands,[15][16] and a 400 MW cable is planned via the Kriegers Flak offshore wind farm.[17][18]

Total export and import capacities were 2,510 MW and 2,870 MW respectively in 2007. The actual import and export capacities were typically 60% of the nominal capacities. Studies showed inefficient markets in 2006.[4][8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Summary of Environmental Report 2012
  2. ↑ Summary of Environmental Report 2012
  3. ↑ Energinet.dk Environmental Reporting
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Capacity for Competition, Investing for an Efficient Nordic Electricity Market Report, The Nordic competition authorities 1/2007; Capacity and electricity consumption page 58
  5. ↑ Energy in Sweden, Facts and figures 2009 and 2010 2009 T25 and 2010 T49
  6. ↑ Shahan, Zachary. Denmark Aiming for 100% Renewable Energy by 2050 Clean Technica, 28 November 2011. Accessed: 29 November 2011.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Our milestones". Dong Energy. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Gellert, Bjarne Christian. Electricity interconnections Energinet.dk, 22 August 2011. Accessed: 6 December 2011.
  9. ↑ "The Queen plugged in the Great Belt Power Link" (Press release). Energinet.dk. 2010-09-14. Retrieved 2010-10-28.
  10. ↑ "History". Energinet.dk. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
  11. ↑ Energy Policies of IEA Countries - Denmark. 2006 Review (PDF). OECD/IEA. 2006. p. 25. ISBN 92-64-10971-4.
  12. ↑ Wittrup, Sanne. "Så er alle de mindre luftledninger lagt i jorden" Ingeniøren, 19 December 2014. Accessed: 21 December 2014.
  13. ↑ Regulatory reform in Denmark. OECD. 2000. p. 267. ISBN 978-92-64-17665-2.
  14. ↑ Skødt, Torben. "Electricity interconnections" Energinet.dk, 20 February 2014. Accessed: January 2015.
  15. ↑ "Planned electricity cable between the Netherlands and Denmark". TenneT. Retrieved 24 September 2010.
  16. ↑ Torben Glar Nielsen. "Energinet.dk has approved the business case for Cobra cable" Energinet.dk, 13 January 2014. Accessed: 20 January 2014.
  17. ↑ "Nordic Grid Development Plan 2014" page 59-62, Document no. 13/81818 - 5. Nordic TSOs, August 2014. Accessed: January 2015.
  18. ↑ Wittrup, Sanne. "Sjælland får ny, millliard-dyr elforbindelse til Tyskland" Ingeniøren, 19 December 2014. Accessed: January 2015.